Two Filipino duos wrote a golden page for their country’s beach volleyball by reaching Sunday’s final of the women’s Busan Futures on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. The gold medal went to Khylem Harl Progella & Sofiah Shanine Pagara, while their compatriots Cherry Ann Rondina & Bernadeth Pons brought home bronze. Australia’s Jana Milutinovic & Jasmine Rayner completed the podium in Korea.
20-year-old Progella and 21-year-old Pagara of the Philippines made a fantastic run through the tournament – seven consecutive victories that led them from the first qualification round on Thursday all the way to the top of the podium on Sunday. Seeded 13th in the 16-team main draw, they dropped only two sets throughout the tournament, one of them in their 2-1 (17-21, 21-13, 15-11) semifinal against seventh-seeded Mayu Sawame & Wakana Akishige of Japan. In the all-Filipino gold medal showdown, Progella & Pagara achieved a 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) victory over their more experienced compatriots Rondina & Pons to celebrate not only their first gold, but also their first medal of any color on the Beach Pro Tour.
